The question of what the NSA should do and should be able to do in foreign surveillance is an interesting one, and I’d love to discuss it. It’s a debate that is distinct from what they should be able to do to American citizens. The release of all these sensitive documents has the potential to lead to reforms that protect our privacy and make the Agency’s legitimate activities more efficient and sensible. But reading Scott Shane’s article in the New York Times, I can’t escape the feeling that I should not have most of this information.
There is so much detail on the NSA’s capabilities that, while it’s legitimately scary, it also enables people to evade surveillance or to learn how to feed us bad and misleading information.
I have very mixed emotions about the whole topic. I feel very clearly that the NSA has been overstepping its bounds and has been very wasteful with resources. I think they need to be reined in. There should be a top to bottom review of everything they’ve been doing and a lot of transparency. But, at the same time, I think a lot of damage is being done to our country that, while it may be necessary, I certainly am not enjoying.